Joint projects have been common among rappers for years: from Jay Z and Kanye West’s “Watch The Throne,” to more recent releases like Lil Baby and Lil Durk’s “Voice of the Heroes.” But the standard for these projects was set back in 2015, when two titans in their prime dropped, in my opinion, the best collaborative project of all time.

“What a Time to Be Alive” from Drake and Future was the prime example of how to do a joint tape. The album had a short but consistent track list, solo songs for each rapper, and great production all around. Future in 2015 was damn near unstoppable, to the point where he honestly killed Drake on that entire project. Fast forward to 2022, Drake is back with his first collaborative tape since WATTBA, “Her Loss” with 21 Savage, where he finally gets his shine.

Coming into this album, Drake was under some pressure for his third project in 14 months. His albums “Certified Lover Boy” and “Honestly, Nevermind” received many mixed reactions, especially due to the latter album’s house music theme. It came into question as to whether Drake could finally be showing signs of slowing down now that he’s older.

However, “Her Loss” shows a different side to Drake we haven’t seen in a long time. A hungry, unfiltered, and overall pissed-off version of the Canadian rapper that caught me by surprise.

“N****s ain’t got love for the boy, so they fake it/ Crack a couple jokes to some b*****s on some snake s**t
But if I send a verse to they ass, then they’ll take it,” Drake raps on “More M’s.” He’s always spoken about the fake love shown in the rap industry, but rarely do you see him get this fired up about it.

21 Savage revealed that he encouraged Drake to be more unfiltered on this album. And while it did come with some controversy, I loved hearing this side of Drake. It felt like after the criticism he received for his last few projects, he heard the negativity and responded to it promptly.

While Drake did shine on this project, I have to give credit to 21 Savage where it’s due. “Her Loss” certainly felt like a Drake album featuring 21 Savage, as we saw Drake having more solo spots and longer verses throughout the album. But 21 still played his role throughout this tape, bringing that gritty yet calm style that he’s been known for.

“Major distribution, labels callin’, Harry Styles numbers, it’s a robbery/ My n****s go in-Zayn to catch a body,” the Atlanta based rapper says on “Major Distribution.” 21 shouting out his fellow U.K. natives was definitely a memorable moment from “Her Loss.”

We also get to see the R&B side of 21, a side that I was anxiously hoping Drake would bring out in him. “Spin Bout U,” “Hours In Silence“ and “I Guess It’s F**k Me” are the more melodic tracks that move on from the high-energy trap tracks that take up most of the project. These tracks show that it’s about time 21 Savage drops an R&B album.

While there are a lot of highs from Drake and 21 throughout this project, but then we see Drake stoop low. The internet was buzzing after Drake “allegedly” called Megan Thee Stallion a liar about her shooting while also calling Serena Williams’ husband a groupie. I get it, it’s Drake, he likes to be petty, but moments like that felt awkward to listen to. The bars took away from how good the album really is, and it just felt unnecessary to cross those lines.

Despite the messiness Drake brings on this project, “Her Loss” is arguably one of the most complete of his albums we’ve seen in a few years. It didn’t feel like there were unnecessary tracks spread throughout like CLB, the production was consistently strong all the way, and his lyricism didn’t feel lazy and basic like before. Since their first collaboration, “Sneakin'” in 2016, it feels like a full circle moment with Drake and 21 Savage now that their collaborative project is out. They’ve proven time and time again that they simply can’t miss on a song together, and they made it very apparent on “Her Loss.”

I rate Drake and 21 Savage’s “Her Loss” an 8.5 out of 10. My favorite songs were “Spin Bout U,” “More M’s” and “Major Distribution.”

This story was written by Rashad Alexander. He can be reached out at [email protected].